"Convent of St. Catherine, with Mount Horeb",

Subject: Holy Land

Period: 1844 (dated)

Publication: The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia

Color: Black & White

Size:

20 x 13 inches50.8 x 33 cm

Fabulous full page tinted lithograph depicting the convent nestled at the base of the majestic mountain. A line of travelers are on the road leading to the fortress-like structure. David Roberts, R.A. (1796-1864) was one of the first Europeans to depict the Middle East. Considered a dangerous and barbaric land, it was not until the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt after 1798 that any serious study had been done into the Pharoic culture. Sir Richard Burton's infamous penetration of Mecca did not occur until 1858, twenty years after Roberts painted the wonders of the Moslem world and the Holy Land. The sketchbooks from his journeys resulted in the conversion of this dramatic sketches to lithographs by Louis Hague. The work was one of the most popular publications of its time, allowing Victorian Europeans a peek into the exotic world from the comfort of their parlors.

References:

Condition: A+

Estimate: $400 - $500

Sold for: $220

Closed on 12/8/1999

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Old World Auctions specializes in genuine antique maps, atlases and decorative graphics originating between the 14th and 19th centuries.